Starlight Dance
by BunBunBabe
Summary: Kevin, Gwen and Ben never seem to get a break from their plumber duties. With old enemies crawling out of the woodwork no where is safe.::Sequel to Chaos of the Heart:: A lot Gewvin, some Ben x Julie, some one sided Michael x Gwen. Read & Review please.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: First Step**

Kevin's car pulled up to an empty airfield when they arrived at the air field Kevin pulled up to a large spaceship that was hidden behind a large hanger. "Well here we are we should get going we have a long way to go." Kevin said parking the car in the hanger.

Gwen climbed out of the car and grabbed her bag out of trunk and held onto it "Kevin where are you taking us?" she asked turning around and coming face to face with Argit. Gwen would have jumped out of her skin if she had never met him before.

"Kevin, what have you planned?" she asked warily wondering what her boyfriend had planned for their double date.

Kevin chuckled "That is a surprise all you should know is that we're going to have the most fun ever." He said grabbing the rest of the bags. "Besides Argit owes me a favor and he's letting us use a ship he got in a trade. We're going to be using his ship for our trip, we better hurry we have a long trip." He said leading the three others onto the ship.

Ben looked around the ship as he held Julie's hand. "Kevin you just remember your still on probation so let's not go anywhere that will cause you to get tossed into the void." Ben said taking his seat behind the pilot's chair. Kevin chuckled and took his seat "We're not going anywhere dangerous, I know where to go that is safe." He said as he began to turn the ship's controls on.

Gwen took her seat and looked out the front window. "You've been planning this for the last two months haven't you?" she asked smiling at the teen.

Chuckling lightly Kevin turned one last dial and the engines roared to life and the ship started to rise from the ground and float in mid air. Kevin hit the cloaking shield and took off into the sky.

"Trust me there is going to be no alien fighting like I promised but you never said anything about going to an alien planet." He said smirking as he dodged a few pieces of space junk. He grumbled under his breath about the junk floating around them. He yawned a bit and hit the auto pilot button before leaning back in his seat.

Ben got out of his seat and started to walk around "Hey Kevin what do you have to eat on this trip and why don't you have any of those stewardesses they have on planes walking around handing out snacks. You have a lot of money from you illegal trades you could afford them couldn't you?" Ben asked laughing softly.

Julie looked over at her boyfriend before looking away. Gwen rolled her eyes "Ben could you be any more of a jerk. We'll be there soon, besides you had three orders of chili fries before we left remember you made us stop special for them. You don't need to eat any more, but if you really are hungry then we can fly to the drive thru at the nearest planet." Gwen said looking over at Ben before turning to look at Kevin. "Are you going to tell us where you plan on taking us or is it going to stay a secret this whole trip? She asked as Kevin glanced over at her. "I told you it's a surprise. You guys know there is more to the ship than this area, you can go walk around and check it out." As soon as the words were out of his mouth both Ben and Julie got up from their seats and went off to explore.

Gwen pulled her legs up into the seat and reclined the seat back. "You're not one to be so secretive so it must be a pretty big secret for you to be keeping it from us." Gwen said smiling. Kevin chuckled "Since you and I were both grounded for so long I was surprised you father even allowed you to come on this trip." Kevin said remembering the day when Gwen had saved him from the Null Void. When they had gone back to Bellwood her parents were on the warpath that she had taken her brother's car and had driven with just a permit. "I thought your father was going to break something he looked so mad, and when you told them it was to save me from a court ruling in space I don't think I ever ran so fast in my life I actually thought I was a goner." Kevin said keeping an eye out for any problems with the auto pilot.

"Oh yes, big strong Kevin Ethan Levin ran off like a scared little girl just because my dad turned toward you. I've see you take on aliens three times your size and a man that is a foot taller than you scared you half to death?" she asked with a smirk. Kevin reached over and put his hand over Gwen's mouth "You said you weren't going to repeat my middle name ever" he whispered looking behind them to make sure Ben didn't hear. "For your information it wasn't your father that scared me half to death it was your mother, that look she was giving me, I thought she was going to murder me." He added with a smirk. Gwen laughed softly and looked back out the window as the stars in the distance seemed to dance.

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Ben yawned as he walked around the ship with Julie there wasn't too much to see other than the living quarters. "Not much here so how much did Kevin get for this ship from his friend… must have been pretty cheap. Then again Kevin is quite cheap when it comes to things. Let's just hope this ship doesn't break down on us." Ben said laughing as they made their way back up to where Kevin and Gwen were.

Julie smiled softly at Ben "Don't give Kevin a hard time on this trip you know he didn't have to bring us along. Gwen told me that he didn't want to bring us at first but she talked him into it. So be nice Ben or he might just leave you on whatever planet we're going to." Julie said laughing softly as they re-entered the control room.

"I hope we get there soon, I'm getting bored and this ship doesn't really have a decent bathroom at all. Your friend stiffed you." Ben said taking his seat again next to Julie. "Don't listen to Ben he's just upset that I wouldn't let him TP the ship." She said looking at her boyfriend with a glare. The both looked away from each other and looked out the windows.

"You two shouldn't fight at all, I have a feeling we're going to be there very soon and you two wouldn't want to start a vacation mad at each other." Kevin said laughing as he turned off the auto pilot and headed for a lime green planet. When the ship finally touched down Kevin got up from his seat. "We're not actually there yet but we've got a warning light and I need to check it out so we don't drift in space forever. So why don't you guys wait here for me I'll be back in five minutes." He said grabbing a small tool box before heading out of the ship.

_I want to get off this planet as soon as possible, I don't know too much about it so it could be really bad here._ Kevin thought as he opened up the panel on the port side engine. He began to do a diagnostic check when he felt that someone or something was watching him. Turning around Kevin looked though the trees. When he felt safe he went back to work on the engine.

He wanted to get off the planet as soon as humanly possible. There was something about the planet that made him feel uneasy. Kevin continued the check and watched for any problems. When he finally found one he began to re-solder a wire back into place when something hit him hard in the back of the head. Everything went black as Kevin hit the ground hard; he was grabbed by the legs and dragged off into the woods.

"Guys, Kevin has been good for more than five minutes. I'm going to go make sure he's all right. I'll be right back." Gwen said getting up from her seat and heading outside to where Kevin was supposed to be." Kevin… are you almost done out here?" Gwen asked coming around the corner and finding the panel on engine open and a tool box but no Kevin. Gwen looked in a circle franticly for her boyfriend. She couldn't see anything but trees. "Kevin! Kevin this isn't funny." Gwen yelled looking around again trying to find a clue. When she couldn't see anything she went back onto the ship and into the control room.

Ben turned around and looked at his cousin "Gwen? What's wrong?' he asked getting up from his seat and walking over to Gwen. " It's Kevin he's not out there, he just vanished I'm going to track his mana but you two should stay here I can take care of myself Ben and someone has to make sure that the ship stays safe and who better than the great Ben Tennyson." Gwen said smiling. Turning in a circle Ben thought for a moment and sighed. "Even if I tell you not to go alone you will still go so just hurry up." Ben said as his cousin took off again to find her missing boyfriend.

Julie looked at her boyfriend "I know Gwen said for us to wait I just can't help but worry I mean we're on an unknown planet." Julie said staying in her seat. She put her arms around herself. She looked out the window at the trees across the clearing.

Gwen looked around once more and started to concentrate on Kevin's mana, when she finally had a lock on him she smiled. "Found you, if this some kind of joke Kevin I swear I'm going to kill you" Gwen mumbled as she started to head into the trees and started to follow the trail deep into the woods. After walking for what seemed like forever Gwen found a small city, it reminded her of an ancient Mayan city that they were studying in history class. She could see humanoid like creatures walking around the city.

Checking the mana trail once more she could sense that Kevin was very close. Sneaking down the rocky path Gwen made her way into the city. She kept to the shadows as much as possible. When she found that the shadows and the buildings ended. Moving from her hiding spot she was surrounded by guards. _Not what I planned, but maybe I can find Kevin this way._ Gwen thought as she was lead toward the large temple looking building. When she ascended the stairs she felt her stomach tighten into knots.

The young Anodite looked across the open hall at the large throne with a young man who looked very handsome perched on it. He was watching as she was forced to walk closer. Gwen felt a lump grown in her throat as she finally was stopped just before the throne. It was then that Gwen noticed a form lying on the floor. It took her a moment to realize that the form was Kevin. "Kevin…" Gwen said softly as she moved quickly to his side and started to shake him.

"Wake up Kevin, please…hey get off me" Gwen yelled as she struggled against the hands that were grabbing at her. Both guards let go and moved back and kneeled on the ground. She moved right back to Kevin's side and rolled him over so his head was resting in her lap. "I really wish you were awake right now." Gwen whispered as she began to shake with fear. It was then she realized that someone was standing over her again. She slowly looked up and locked eyes with the man who had just been sitting on the throne.

Right away Gwen knew he had to be royalty, everything about him just screamed royalty, the way he held himself and just how he looked. Gwen lowered her gaze back to Kevin. "What's wrong with him?" she asked, she knew that her plumber's badge had a translator in it so alien races that didn't speak English could understand her.

Grabbing onto Kevin's arm and shook him again Kevin groaned softly and sat up. He began to rub the back of his head.

"You two look like you could use some care" the young man said to the couple. "My name is Prince Xalexy Ka, the eldest son of the royal family on the planet of Vamperi." He said bowing slightly. "You two are humans aren't you? I've never actually had the chance to study your kind. I'm inviting you to be my guests at dinner. It has been such a long time since we had visitors to our planet." Xalexy said as a couple servants came into the room. He looked at the couple in front of him. "My servants will bring you to a guest room where you can rest until dinner starts." He added as Gwen and Kevin were led away from him.

Kevin put his arm around Gwen's waist and kept her close until they were finally alone in a lavish room. "I don't like this; we should get out of here as soon as possible. Without proper knowledge about this place I don't feel right being here." Kevin said looking around the room before walking over to Gwen and pulled her into his arms.

"Now that you mention it I'm starting to get a strange vibe from this place. We should get out of here while we have a chance." She said moving away from Kevin and over to the door. Gwen grabbed the handle of the door and pulled on it, she found that the door was locked. "Kevin… they locked the door… now we officially have to get out of here." she said walking away from the door.

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Ben sighed and walked around the ship, he was bored out of his mind, Gwen had been gone for quite a long time and there was nothing to do. "Julie there is nothing to do and I'm getting bored of waiting for them to get back. Maybe I should go look for them. But I don't want to leave you alone especially on this strange planet." Ben said taking a seat on a couch in the living quarters.

Julie sighed and sat down next to Ben "Well look at it this way Ben, this is the first time we've actually had a chance to be alone together without you having to run off to fight aliens all the time. We haven't had a real date in a long time" she said leaning up against Ben and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sure that Kevin and Gwen are fine, they can take care of themselves." Julie said reaching over and taking Ben's hand in hers "When we get home from our trip do you want to come over to my house for dinner my parents really want you to come over." She added.

Ben looked away a bit " That sounds like a lot of fun, I would love to have dinner with your family, and I promise even if there is an alien attack I'll try and let Kevin and Gwen take care of it." Ben said laughing softly, in the back of his mind he wondered if he would be able to go a whole night without fighting aliens. He worried that a dinner with Julie's parents would turn into a complete nightmare.

* * *

Kevin paced around the room and put his hands into his hair and tightened his fingers around his hair. "This is just great; I had such a great trip planned out for you" he said taking a seat on the bed. Gwen walked over and pulled Kevin's hands off his head. "Just getting to be with you is a wonderful trip; please don't beat yourself up for something you couldn't control." Gwen said smiling softly.

"Gwen your perfect and I wanted to impress you, I mean I know we're together already but I wanted our first date to be special." Kevin said sighing softly. "Kevin, you impress me every day by just being yourself" Gwen said going over to Kevin and putting her arms around Kevin. Standing up slowly Kevin kept his girlfriend close he loved the smell of her shampoo it was comforting to him. "There is something I've kind of been holding in for a while, ever since we ran into each other again I've been head over heels in love with you. There are some nights when I can't even sleep because I'm thinking about you. What I'm trying to say is that I love you and I never want to leave your side even for a second. This may be too sudden but I've been dancing around the subject of us dating for way too long and I know if I keep this in any longer I will never get the courage to do this. Gwen Tennyson I want to marry you so will you say yes?" Kevin asked closing his eyes and turning his head a bit, one part of him wanted to hear the answer and the other wanted to run away and never hear the answer.

Gwen smiled softly "Of course I'll marry you Kevin" she answered smiling. Kevin opened his eyes and sighed "I understand, I know it was too early to ask… wait you said yes" he said going over the answer in his head. Reaching into his pocket Kevin pulled out a small heart shaped ring box and opened it, inside was a white gold ring with nine round cut diamonds graced the band of the ring. Kevin took the ring out of the box and put it on Gwen's finger, the ring was a perfect fit. "Now that we have that settled how about we get out of here, we're in need of some stairs to get out of here." Kevin said as he led his fiancée to the balcony. Gwen created her stairs quickly and walked down past the garden wall and into the woods.

As they walked toward the ship using Gwen as a tracker, she was following Ben's mana to find where the ship was. The sky above them was turning a royal purple-blue color. "Kevin, we really shouldn't walk at night, and judging by how fast the sun is going down we should find shelter soon while we have some light." Gwen said as she walked close to Kevin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Angered Dawn**

Kevin was starting to feel a real energy drain after the adrenalin had begun to wear off. He had decided on taking a longer route back to the ship just in case they were followed. The long way however was proving to be his downfall. When he and Gwen climbed over a large tree root they found that the woods around them stretched on for miles it seemed and the darkness was surrounding them even faster than before.

"I hate to say it but we should find a place to crash for the night, Gwen how much farther do we have to go anyway?" Kevin asked picking up a large branch that was lying against a tree root beside him. Gwen started to track Ben's mana again before turning to Kevin. "Since we decided to take the long way around so that we wouldn't be spotted by anyone we've got another few miles to go till we get to the clearing." She answered. Gwen could see the exhaustion on Kevin's face; he looked like he was going to drop any second. She grabbed his hand and pulled it back so Kevin stopped walking. "Let's rest here you look exhausted." Gwen said softly as she pulled him over to a small area beneath a giant tree, hidden between the roots.

Gwen sat down on one of the roots and smiled at Kevin "You should get some rest; I'll stand guard." She said softly as Kevin sat down between the giant roots hidden from view. Reaching up from where he was sitting on the ground Kevin grabbed Gwen's arm and pulled her into his arms. "You're going to catch a cold if you sit up there all alone." He mumbled as he held Gwen against his chest as he fell asleep.

The young Anodite smiled softly and nuzzled up against her fiancée's chest for warmth as she kept a look out for anyone that was looking for them. After a few minutes Kevin was asleep, his chest rose and fell softly. Gwen smiled and kept vigilant as the sun slid past the horizon and night fell over the woods. "Good night Kevin" she whispered sitting up and bit and kissing Kevin softly on the cheek before curling back up next to him.

_We're sitting ducks out here, hopefully nothing will happen tonight._ Gwen thought as she felt Kevin's arm move around her waist. She didn't mind staying up and being the look out, of course Gwen was tired but Kevin needed rest more than she did. But a few minutes of closing her eyes wouldn't be too bad. Gwen stopped forcing her eyes open and started to drift off to sleep as well.

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Ben yawned slowly opened his eyes and walked over to where Julie was sleeping on another couch; he found a blanket in the closet and draped it over Julie to keep her warm. "Where the heck is Kevin and Gwen?" Ben mumbled as he made sure that the doors to the ship were locked and that it was safe. Ben patrolled the ship before he found himself in the galley. He began to rummage though the cabinets looking for something to eat.

"Kevin said something about freeze dried food and regular snacks somewhere, now I really wish I had been listening to him before." Ben said opening up a few more cabinets with no luck at finding any food. Trudging back to where he left Julie Ben flopped on the open couch and yawned again. If he couldn't find something to eat he would just wait for Kevin to get back and show him where the food was.

Ben knew he had to stay awake to keep Julie and ship safe from any aliens. Ben shrugged his shoulders a bit at the ideas even thinking of attacking and finally let his eyes close. His arm dangled off the couch his omnitrix glowing lightly. When he opened his eyes again there was light everywhere. Rolling over to hit his alarm clock Ben fell off the couch and hit the ground with a loud thud. Groaning softly he realized he was still on the ship and that it was daytime once again. "Ugh…how long have I been asleep?" Ben asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"About three hours longer than me" Julie said coming into the room with breakfast. "I'm really worried the sun has been up for a long time and Kevin and Gwen still aren't back yet." She said putting the tray of food on the table. "Kevin and Gwen are fine, Kevin loves Gwen like a love sick puppy he would do anything to keep her safe from any danger they come across. I've seen those two take on DN Aliens and win even when they were outnumbered. I promise you that they are going to be fine." Ben said smiling as he walked over to the food. "Where did you find the food I looked for it everywhere last night" Ben asked grabbing some toast. Julie smiled "Did you look in the pantry it's that big door on the far wall that says pantry. All the food was in there" Julie said taking a seat at the table.

Laughing softly Ben started to wolf down the toast in his hand. "You didn't happen to find something to drink to go with breakfast did you?" he asked his mouth full of toast. Julie walked into the galley and came back with a carton of orange juice and handed it to Ben. Opening up the carton Ben started to down the juice till the carton was empty.

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Kevin slowly opened his eyes and saw Gwen nestled up beside him, it was a wonderful sight to see, the only down side was that the rock he was leaning on was giving him a sore back. He wanted to get up and stretch but Kevin wanted the girl next to him to get as much sleep as possible. Shifting his weight a bit he was able to put his arm around Gwen and move her into a more comfortable position against the rock as he slowly slipped aside till he was free and able to stand up. Walking away from Gwen he followed the sound of running water till he came to a small stream, he knew he wasn't far from Gwen at all but being on an alien planet twenty feet felt like miles away. He had been unconscious the whole trip to the castle so nothing looked familiar to him.

He knew in his days as a tech trader that he heard of this planet before but for the life of him he couldn't seem to remember anything. It was somewhere in his mind, he knew all the planets in this part of the galaxy he did a lot of trading but for him not to know a planet just by seeing it from space meant that he did little to no trading with its inhabitants. The area he was in felt safer than when he had gone to fix the engine on the ship. Something had been lying in wait for him it was the only explanation to why he was jumped moments after leaving the ship. Looking around some more Kevin looked for something that even resembled food.

Back at the makeshift campsite Gwen slowly woke from her deep sleep, as she was waking up she had an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was standing over her and watching her; cracking her eyes open just enough to see a heavily burred view around her and still keep up the guise that she was asleep. When she looked she could barely make out two figures leaning over her. Gwen threw her arm out in front of her out of reflex and sent the two aliens flying backwards from her powers.

They landed with a loud thud at the feet of a third person. Gwen opened her eyes and looked at the third person it was the prince they had met the night before, he looked livid he pulled a knife out of his belt and held it pointing toward the ground. "I should have trusted my instincts, there was something about you I just couldn't put my finger on before now I know what it was you're not human your one of those… an Anodite." Xalexy said as he turned his head and spat on the ground beside him. "Even saying that word leaves a bad taste in my mouth." He added motioning for the others that came with him to surround the tree.

Soon a dozen or so armed men were pointing various weapons at Gwen; each one of them had a look of disgusted hatred on their face. Gwen knew all her DN Alien fighting would come in handy. She got to her feet and looked around before she broken into action and started to throw orbs of mana at everyone. Soon half of the men were out cold on the ground. That was when she felt it; it had come out of nowhere. She didn't even realize she was in pain till she heard herself start to scream. Gwen could hear voices yelling that someone had missed but she couldn't concentrate the pain clouded everything.

Kevin knew he heard yelling, it was a voice he could never mistake for anyone else he knew something bad had happened to Gwen. Grabbing onto the nearest boulder he absorbed the rock as he took off crashing through the trees and roots till he came to the small clearing where he saw Gwen leaning against the tree that had slept under. She wasn't moving very much. Kevin could just make out that she was still breathing; Gwen had gone into shock from the pain he could see the tail of a medium length arrow in her shoulder.

"Which one of you hurt her…it doesn't matter if you come forward or not. I'm going to take you all out" Kevin roared as charged the men. Soon the rest of the men were down leaving Kevin facing the prince. "I took care of your men, but I'm going to leave now Gwen needs medical help. If you even think of following me I'll kill you." He said turning and walking over to Gwen and looking her over. "Gwen… I don't have the tools to take this out right now but I'm going to get you help I promise." Kevin said lifting her up into his arms bridal style so that her good arm was around his neck and her injured arm was resting on her lap.

Xalexy looked at the young man covered in his stone armor. "I saved you from that beast, why are you helping her?" he asked. Kevin looked at him with a fierce glare before he spoke "Gwen is half human, she was born on Earth whatever problems you have with her kind are with those from their planet. Gwen isn't a part of it. Now move before I stomp your face into the ground" Kevin growled as he passed by the prince.

When he was far enough away Kevin put Gwen down gently and lowered his armor and pulled out his badge, he knew that it would track other badges in the area. He knew that it worked the same with the omnitrix since it was plumber technology. Soon his badge was beeping, he studied it and made a mental map of the direction he had to go in and put the badge back into his pocket before lifting Gwen into his arms again and taking off.

After two hours of walking he finally broke out of the tree line and into a clearing where his ship was sitting. They would have gotten there sooner but he had to stop and check the map a few times to make sure they were going in the right direction and correct the few times they went off track.

"Ben… Julie… I need some help" Kevin said as he walked past them both and into the room near the back of the ship where the sleeping quarters were. "Julie I need you to keep Gwen awake, don't let her fall asleep. Keep her warm she's in shock right now. I have to go make one adjustment to the engine so we can get into space and then call for medical help." Kevin said as he rushed back outside and quickly finished with the wiring job he started the day before. When he was done he grabbed the tool box and ran aboard the ship and closed the door. As he started the ship back up noticed that the problem on the console was gone, when the ship rose into the sky he gunned it to get out of the atmosphere and into space.

Kevin flew for a few minutes before he found a safe area that was completely void of space rocks or other ships. Grabbing the radio he dialed the emergency channel for the plumber's space station. "Hello, we're need of medical assistance. It's very urgent. We're in the Quantar system just off the planet Vamperi. We need the closest medical transport or medical station" Kevin said, he released the button and waited for a response. "Sir, a medical transport will be in your area very soon. They will contact you when they have made contact, please be patient and put your homing beacon on." The voice said.

"Thanks…will do, over and out." Kevin responded as he flicked a switch turning the beacon on. A soft resonating tone started to go off.

Jumping up from his seat Kevin ran to where he left the others. Gwen was being kept awake by Julie who was keeping her talking about things. Kevin walked over and noticed how pale Gwen was starting to look he forced himself to smile a bit when Gwen looked up at him.

"I thought we said we weren't going to fight aliens on this vacation?" she asked smiling a bit; Kevin knew she was pushing herself. He sat on the edge of the bed "I know, but I wouldn't call it fighting aliens I would call it surviving more or less. Now a plumber medical transport will be here soon." He said lifting up a small bit of Gwen's hair and moving it around his finger.

Ben walked back into the room and knocked on the metal door that was open. "Kevin, the transport is here their bringing us aboard their ship now. You know more about what happened to Gwen you should meet them first.

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When the small ship was manually docked in the loading bay three medical personal were waiting for the ship's ramp to drop down when it did they waited a moment as Kevin walked off of the ship with Gwen in his arms. The moment Kevin's feet touched the floor of the docking bay Gwen was pulled from his arms and laid down on a gurney and rushed to the medical bay of the ship.

Frozen for a moment Kevin didn't realize he was standing still till a firm hand patted him on the shoulder. Snapping out of his trance Kevin looked up and found himself face to face with Magister Ba-lel the same plumber who two months ago tried to throw him into the Null Void for selling illegal class technology on Earth when he ran away from home.

"Before you even start to accuse me sir, I wasn't doing any illegal trading at all, our ship was showing engine problems and we had to set down before we could reach our destination." Kevin defended. Ba-lel stood there for a moment silently "I'm not here to arrest you; I'm attached to this medical transport as a guard or peace keeper if it comes down to it." He said crossing his arms over his chest.

Kevin stood there and opened his mouth to ask where Gwen was. "Medical bay 12, through those doors and down the hall to the end" Ba-lel answered pointing at the door Kevin needed to go through. Nodding his head Kevin took off running down the hall. He slid to a stop outside the door and composed himself before walking in.

Ben turned around and looked at Kevin and put his finger to his lips, he grabbed Kevin and pulled him over to the corner of the room. "They removed the arrow and she's resting now, they said she can go home to rest as soon as she wakes up." Ben said as he walked Kevin over to Gwen's bed.

Moving over to the bed Kevin stood there and looked at Gwen as she rested. "Ben… will you do me a favor, um… be my best man?" Kevin asked chuckling lightly. Ben had a quizzical look on his face until he realized what his friend asked him. "Yeah… sure… when did you ask her?" Ben asked finally noticing the ring on Gwen's finger. Kevin rolled his eyes "The other night before we left the castle" he answered.

Gwen slowly opened her eyes, she was groggy from the drugs she had been given; she reached over carefully and took Kevin's hand in hers. "Kevin… I know you planned a big trip we can still go if you want." Gwen said softly. Kevin smiled "No, I think we should get you home to rest. I can reschedule all our plans very easily so don't worry about it. When you're cleared we'll head home." Kevin said taking a seat on the edge of the bed. Julie walked into the room and hugged Ben's arm. "I was just informed that our ship is repaired and ready for us whenever we wanted to leave. So it's up to you two" she said looking at Kevin and Gwen.

Kevin looked over at the other two teens in the room "You two can get lost for a little while" he said making sure Ben and Julie left before he turned back to Gwen who had sat up when he wasn't looking at her. "You're supposed to be resting still." Kevin said softly, Gwen smiled as she leaned in and kissed Kevin for a moment before pulling away. "You do realize that this is alien medicine, I'm healed" Gwen said pushing the neck of the shirt she had been given by the staff over revealing smooth undamaged skin.

Touching the skin softly Kevin couldn't find any signs that Gwen had even been injured. Kevin smiled "Well if you're up to it then I think we should get going we have a long trip home. Wait I'm not going to let you walk you just had surgery done, I'll carry you" Kevin said lifting Gwen with ease into his arms once again.

Walking back to the ship Kevin brought Gwen to her seat in the control room and helped her sit. He didn't want anything bad to happen again. Kevin was still beating himself up from letting her get hurt in the first place. "I'm sorry I left you alone…I can't believe I did something so stupid." Kevin said as he took his seat behind the controls. Gwen reached over and took Kevin's hand "I don't blame you for anything" she said as Ben and Julie finally took their seats. Once they were cleared Kevin took off and headed back to Earth.

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By the time the time they reached the abandoned air strip Kevin parked the ship in the hanger with ease and got up. "I'll drop you two off then I'll take Gwen home, I have a feeling it's going to be a long day."Kevin said his voice showing how nervous he was. Ben smirked "No way, if you're telling Uncle Frank about the two of you I don't want to miss it." Ben said laughing softly.

Gwen looked at her cousin "You realize you have the maturity of a fly right. Now I've just sent an e-mail to my parents and told them that you're all coming to dinner because our trip was canceled due to bad weather. By the time we get back to Bellwood dinner should be ready." She said getting up and heading out to the car.

Kevin grabbed Ben by the arm as he started to head off the ship "If you say anything that makes this night end badly I'm going to pound you into the ground. Do you understand?" Kevin asked making sure Ben was looking right at him.

Ben nodded his head and ran off to the car and scrambled into the backseat of the car and hid beside Julie as Kevin climbed into the driver's seat. When the engine roared to life Ben looked out the window while they drove off away from the air field.

When they arrived at Gwen's house Gwen climbed out of the car and grabbed her bags from the trunk of the car. Before she headed inside Gwen made sure her ring was hidden from view. As she walked up to the front door with the others in tow Gwen felt her heart pounding in her chest.

Kevin walked beside Gwen and followed her closely when they entered the house. It was true that he had been in Gwen's house a dozen times. Only three of those times he was scared to death that he wouldn't leave the house breathing. Opening the door for Gwen, Kevin walked inside and looked around at the house. He saw her parents. Without even thinking he ushered Gwen upstairs to help her unpack.

"We should figure out how we're going to tell your parents." Kevin said as he lay back on the bed. Gwen put her bag down and sat down on the bed beside her fiancée. "We'll come up with something, don't be so nervous. Remember murder is illegal so nothing will happen to you" Gwen said as she got up from her bed and walked to the door. "That's not helping you know" he said getting up and following after the teenage Anodite.

As they went back down stairs they ran into Ben at the top of the stairs "Gwen give us a second, I need to tell Kevin something. Besides Julie is being sucked into a conversation by your mom so you should help her." Ben said as his cousin took off. "Now that she's gone you should know Kevin that nothing is going to go wrong. Besides there is nothing to worry about uncle Frank doesn't even own a gun… but I have heard that he has a killer shot with his nine iron, so my advice is if worse comes to worse just duck and run." Ben said chuckling. Kevin glared at the other boy and punched him in the arm "That's not funny Tennyson" he said walking past Ben and heading downstairs. Ben followed behind Kevin rubbing his arm a bit.

Both boys sat down beside their girlfriends in the living room. Kevin couldn't help but fidget on the couch as Gwen's parents set the table in the other room. When dinner was finally ready they all moved into the dining room and took their seats.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Twilight **

"Ben, it's been quite a while since you've come over for dinner how's life going for you? We want to hear everything. Gwen rarely tells us about what you three do when you run around town." Frank said as he started to put some chicken on his plate. Ben thought for a moment. "School is going real well and soccer is a lot of fun. Not to mention hanging out with my favorite cousin is a lot of fun also."Ben said he knew he dodged a bullet about fighting aliens from his uncle.

Frank smirked "Well that's good, I was actually wondering about your alien fighting, I've heard the rumors of strange things going on out in the desert… well other than the drag racing." Frank said laughing a bit. Kevin nearly choked on his food at that point. He coughed a bit as he wondered just how much the man sitting across from him knew about their secret lives.

Gwen looked over at Kevin with a look that told him not panic. It was at that moment she realized her hand was in clear view and her engagement ring was in full view.

"Gwendolyn Tennyson, is that an engagement ring?" her mother asked in shock. Gwen's face turned quite a deep shade of red as she nodded her head. It was her turn to answer questions. She thought her words over carefully before speaking. "Kevin gave it to me last night" she added carefully. Gwen knew she was in deep trouble it was only a matter of seconds before the yelling started. Ben leaned back in his seat as he planned to watch the events unfold he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Kevin was looking as paranoid as a mouse sitting in front of a cat.

Kevin sat as still as a board as Gwen's parents looked him over. He could tell right away that they were judging him. "I know what you're thinking; you're thinking I'm no good for Gwen and your right, I'm nothing but a bad boy who made a lot of bad choices growing up, and I've done a lot of things I'm not really proud of at all. But what's also true is that without Gwen I wouldn't be the person I am today." Kevin said as calmly as he could.

Just as Frank was about to speak a loud beeping filled the room. Kevin pulled out his badge and looked over at Ben. "We have to go, DN Aliens attacking. Cooper has been keeping an eye on their movements" Kevin said getting up from the table. Ben jumped to his feet. "Come on Gwen let's go. Julie We'll be back soon I promise." He said smiling as he left the house with Kevin and Gwen. Julie jumped up and ran off behind Ben and jumped into the car with Ben as they took off.

"So Gwen how long before your parents start to follow us?" Ben asked as Kevin sped off down the road through Bellwood till they came to a large wooded park outside the city. Gwen got out of the car and looked around. "I can sense them; they are in the woods around us. We should be careful. I can sense quite a bit." Gwen said as she looked around the area.

Kevin got out of the car. "Gwen, I'll go with you Ben you keep an eye on your girlfriend, Gwen and I will be back soon. We're going to take a look around." Kevin said as he walked off into the woods with his fiancée. He knew ever since they left her house that her parents had followed them to the wooded area where the DN Aliens were waiting for them.

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Frank pulled his car to the side of the road both he and his wife sat in the car and watched the four teenagers. He watched his daughter and possible son-in-law walk off into the woods. Getting out of the car he walked over to his nephew and his girlfriend. "Ben what are you doing out here. Where is Gwen going?" Frank asked. Before his question could be answered the air was filled with loud screeches and yelling.

Gwen and Kevin were running back out of the woods panting. "I think you made them really mad Kevin" Gwen said as she looked over her shoulder as a dozen aliens chased them with more coming in waves. Kevin smirked "What doesn't make them want to chase us. All I did; was throw a rock I wasn't even aiming for anything" he said reaching his car and absorbing the metal. "Yeah and you just happened to destroy whatever it used to be they weren't happy. But I can see that you are" Gwen said. He smirked as he got into a fighting stance "Ben we could use a hand here or maybe six" Kevin said

Ben chuckled and dialed the omnitrix before hitting it soon a blue furred monkey was standing there. "Gwen we have a lot to explain" he said as he walked off. It was then Gwen noticed her parents standing there. "Julie, get my parents back to safety" Gwen said as she ran up a flight of mana stairs into the sky. It was then that the aliens broke through the tree line "Kevin, on your right" she yelled throwing a few mana orbs at some of the aliens.

Kevin smirked "We work well together" he said smiling as he took out a few aliens with his fists. It was then he noticed a large hand coming toward him. Dodging it at the last second he saw the Highbreed standing above him. The Highbreed wasn't alone soon there were half a dozen of them in the area. "Gwen look out, get out of their reach now" he yelled as he watched Gwen run up higher into the sky till she was as high as the tree tops.

Gwen looked down at the fight below her there was no reason for the Highbreed to be there unless they were set up to be there. "Kevin this doesn't feel right, I think we were set up. We have to get my parents out of here before we leave." She yelled down to Kevin as he fought a few DN Aliens off.

Ben squealed and ran over to aunt and uncle "You two should take Julie and get out of here don't worry we can take of everything. We do this for a living" he said hitting the omnitrix on his chest and turned back to his human form. "I think we need a little strength, how about Humongousaur" he said selecting the large alien and transforming into him.

Julie decided to take control "Ben's right we need to get out of here. Don't worry; they really know what they are doing. The least we can do is get out of their way and get into your car." She said leading Gwen's parents to their car. After they all climbed in they watched the fight continue.

Kevin groaned as he took a few well placed hits. When he was able to get away he made it to his trunk and popped it open and grabbed a large weapon out of the back. Soon the DN Aliens began to scatter back into the woods. He smirked as Gwen came down from the sky and stood beside him. "What's that?" she asked with a tone that Kevin knew was telling him he was going to get a talking to. "It's a Sontarin plasma gun, it doesn't really work but they didn't know that. Besides I cleared the area pretty quickly. I didn't do any trading Argit gave it me." Kevin said digging his grave a little deeper. He dropped his armor quickly showing he was defenseless.

Gwen tapped her foot on the ground and rolled her eyes a bit "If you get caught with that while on probation you could get in a lot of trouble. You need to get rid of that as soon as possible." She said in a demanding tone. Kevin smirked and put his arms around Gwen's waist and pulled her into a deep kiss. Gwen felt her upset worries about Kevin melt away. Her arms moved around his neck keeping him in the kiss longer. When they finally pulled apart she smiled.

"That still won't get you off the hook for the gun, you still have to get rid of it even if it is broken Kevin." Gwen said as she looked at the raven haired teen in front of her. He could only smile. "Of course…now allow me to take you home. I'm famished and we still haven't eaten dinner yet." Kevin said leading Gwen to the passenger side. He opened the door for her and held it open for her.

Ben walked over to the car "Hey I need a ride too" he said as Kevin closed the passenger side door. "Hello you have the omnitrix you could fly there or go with your girlfriend." Kevin said as he walked around the car and got into the driver's side and started the car up. He punched the gas and spun the car in a circle and took off leaving Ben standing in the clearing of the park not far from his aunt and uncle's car. Walking over to the other car Ben got in the backseat beside his girlfriend.

"Kevin said they were going to meet us back at your place. So… now you know the truth, you don't have to tell my parents do you?" Ben asked, it was then he got the 'you're so busted look' from his aunt and uncle. "I'll take that as a maybe then" he joked as he tried to laugh it off.

---------------

Gwen looked out the window as Kevin drove carefully to avoid the few cops that were around. "Kevin that was too staged, someone was testing us or studying us. I had the feeling we were being watched and I don't just mean by my parents. There was something else, it was familiar but it was different somehow." She said resting her head against the window.

Kevin looked over at Gwen when he pulled up to the red stop light. "You mean like when Darkstar used to be around. He would give you that vibe; you don't think he's around planning something again?" Kevin asked as the light turned green. Gwen shrugged her shoulders. "The better question is when isn't; Michael planning some revenge against us. He always has something planned. This is starting to become as bad as when Vilgax was always after Ben when we were kids. And not just Vilgax, there were at least a dozen others trying to get rid of us." Gwen said calmly. Kevin looked down for a moment. "Yeah I know I was one of them" he replied.

When they arrived at Gwen's house Kevin parked on the street and went inside he held his arm out for a moment blocking Gwen from going any farther. "You think your parents would get upset if I crashed here tonight. I don't want to leave you alone for a second." Kevin said putting his arm around Gwen once again and holding her close against his chest.

"You like to push your limits don't you?" Gwen asked as she kept her cheek against Kevin's chest. "It's something you really enjoy doing I'm sure" she added pulling away slowly.

Kevin smirked and walked back into the dining room just as Gwen's parents and cousin walked into the house. Julie smiled as she took her seat across from Gwen. Soon the tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. After a quick dinner Ben and Gwen helped put the plates in the sink and put the leftovers away. When they were done the four teens retreated to the TV room. Gwen sighed softly as she snuggled up against Kevin.

Ben looked over at Kevin and Gwen "I actually should get Julie home, and it's a long walk so we'll see you guys later" Ben said leading Julie out of his cousin's house.

Gwen sighed softly "I thought they would never leave, it's nice to get some time with alone with you. It so rarely happens." Gwen said softly. Kevin nodded his head as he held Gwen against him still. He smiled softly because it felt so right to have her against his body. They were like a puzzle the way they fit in each other's arms.

"That attack tonight seemed way too organized especially for DN Aliens. I mean they can plan something like that but now that I think about it didn't it look like they were guarding whatever that machine was." Gwen said raising her hand up a bit to look at her ring. Kevin thought for a moment. "Well whatever it was I don't think we have to worry about it anymore. I smashed it pretty good so there is no need to worry, I promise." Kevin said calmly.

Frank walked into the den and cleared his throat; Gwen it's getting late maybe you should start thinking about turning in for the night, remember you have school tomorrow." He said as he left the room. Gwen gave a soft sigh "He's right, I do have school in the morning. But you don't have to leave. Meet me in the back yard after you park in the alley." She whispered as she got up from the couch and took Kevin's hand in hers as she led him toward the front door. "I'll see you in the morning." She said smiling softly as they kissed goodnight.

Kevin smirked as he headed down the front walkway to his car. Getting into his car he started it up and drove it down the block till he came to an alley that cut across two roads. When he parked he made sure that he locked his car before making his way back to Gwen's, he kept to the shadows to make sure he didn't get caught.

Gwen yawned "Goodnight, I'll see you in the morning" she said as she jogged up the stairs to her room. As soon as she closed the door she ran over to the window and looked out into the backyard. Crating her mana stairs she ran down to the backyard and kept to the shadows of the house where she was out of view of the windows. She waited till she saw the lights on the first floor turn off. She created a small orb of mana, looking around she waited for Kevin to show up.

"Where could he be?" she whispered as she tried to see any signs of Kevin. She nearly screamed when she felt a hand on her waist. "That was just too easy" Kevin whispered as he put his arm around Gwen's waist. "That wasn't very funny Kevin, we could have gotten busted." Gwen hissed. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Let's get upstairs before your dad catches us." Kevin said as Gwen created a spiraling staircase to keep them even more from view than before. They climbed in her window and both gave a sigh of relief that her parents weren't waiting for them.

Kevin walked around the room a bit; sure he had been in the room a few times during the day but being in a girl's room at night just seemed more mysterious. He took a seat on Gwen's bed as she packed her bag for the next day.

"Gwen, can I ask why you wanted me to stay longer?" Kevin questioned as he moved up a bit and sat against the pillows on Gwen's new double bed that she had gotten since the last time he was up in her room. Gwen sat down on her chair and looked over at Kevin. "After what happened this morning with those aliens… I just don't want to sleep alone tonight." She said softly. Kevin felt a pang of guilt punch him hard in the stomach. It was because she was alone that she had been hurt in the first place. "Don't worry I'll stay all night so you can sleep tonight." He said calmly.

Getting up from her chair Gwen grabbed her pajamas from her dresser and walked into her bathroom, Kevin was so busy looking at the ceiling that he didn't even know she was gone until he heard the bathroom door open.

When he looked over he felt his throat go dry within milliseconds, Gwen was standing there in a tank top and boy shorts. He knew he would have started drooling if his mouth wasn't as dry as a desert. Kevin tried to grasp for words but nothing was coming to him. It took him a second to realize that Gwen had moved from the doorway and was holding a pair of his sweatpants that he had left at her place by accident when he had agreed to do something, all of Kevin's memories had flown out the window along with his ability to speak.

Kevin got up and made his way into the bathroom. He removed his pants and put on the sweat pants, he took off his long sleeved shirt since he knew he would overheat easily that night. When he left the bathroom he saw Gwen was already asleep on one side of the bed. Being as quite as a mouse he moved across the room and sat down on the bed. Kevin didn't feel tired just yet; it was a rare sight for him to watch Gwen as she slept. There had been the occasional time when she fell asleep in the car on the way home from fights.

Because he always drove the car Kevin could only take short glances at Gwen as she slept or else he would crash the car into a tree. This was his chance to just sit and watch her. Sitting against the pillows on his side he pulled the comforter up over Gwen's shoulder so she wouldn't get cold during the night.

"Sleep well" he whispered as he shifted against the pillows until he was in a more comfortable position. After a few minutes he felt the urge to move again. Kevin wasn't one for sleeping on top of the covers that was his one issue. Finally after a long internal debate his common sense took a trip out the window along with everything else that night, he slid under the covers as fast as he could so he wouldn't wake the sleeping girl next to him.

As soon as Kevin pulled the comforter around him to keep the heat in he heard the house begin to settle. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he thought he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Sighing softly Kevin stared up at the ceiling he knew that it was going to be a long night, he glanced over at the clock on the nightstand it was only ten. Closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath he released it as he tried to calm himself down.

Gwen opened her eyes and sat up a bit "Having a hard time getting to sleep?" she asked softly making sure to keep her voice down. She didn't want her parents to hear her if they were still awake which was unlikely since they both woke up early for work.

"Just a bit, but I can sleep later you're the one who needs to get to sleep for school." Kevin whispered back mostly because in the dark talking normally seems so weird and darkness is more about silence. Also he was terrified that Gwen's father would hear him and he would never be able to see Gwen ever again.

Giving a soft smile "At least try and sleep all right" she whispered as she lay back down. Taking one last look at the ceiling Kevin closed his eyes and tried to force his body into sleep. The harder he tried the longer it took. As soon as he stopped trying he could feel his eyes closing and sleep taking him over.

----------

Frank Tennyson woke to his wife's alarm clock; he quickly dressed as was downstairs in a matter of minutes. He grabbed his coffee and was out the front door by six-thirty. Climbing into his car, he saw that Sarah had left early for another meeting. As he drove to work Frank passed the small alley where Kevin had parked his car the night before. Driving through town he pulled into the municipal parking garage he grabbed his jacket and headed to work.

Gwen woke to the muffed sound of her alarm clock she opened her eyes she saw Kevin holding her close to his chest as he slept. After finally pulling herself from Kevin's arms she looked down at him. "Kevin, its morning" she said putting her hand on his shoulder and leaning over him a bit. "I know you're awake, I can see you smiling" she added leaning in closer.

Kevin opened his eyes and rolled over pinning Gwen down on the bed. "All right I'm getting up, you just hurry up. " Kevin said giving Gwen a quick kiss and climbing off the bed and grabbing his clothes. Quickly changing Kevin left the bathroom and headed for the door. "I'll go get my car, I'll be back in five minutes." He said leaving the room.

Running out of the house Kevin jogged back to the alley where he parked his car. Getting into the car he drove back to Gwen's and parked out front. He didn't have to wait long as soon as he arrived Gwen came running down the front path with her bag and books.

Getting into the car Gwen smiled. "There is no need to rush we're early already." She said as the car peeled off down the road and headed for Gwen's private school.

When they arrived at the school everyone was looking as the green sports car pulled up to the curb. Kevin climbed out of his car and walked around the front and grabbed the handle of the passenger door. He opened it and held it for Gwen as she got out and grabbed her things.

"I'll be here to pick you up after school; I'm going to see if I can find anything about that machine from last night I still have a few contacts that will speak to me still. Even though I no longer deal in tech." Kevin said smirking. Moving in quickly he kissed Gwen so deeply that people stopped and stared.

As they pulled away Gwen felt her cheeks turn deep red. "I will see you then. Just be careful… and I love you" she said her voice squeaking a bit. Kevin gave a truly rare genuine smile as he closed the passenger door. "Love you too, and don't worry I'll be fine." He said walking around the car and getting back in behind the wheel and taking off just as the school security guard was walking up.

Gwen smiled softly as she walked into her school and headed for her homeroom, just being away from Kevin for a few minutes made her heart ache. She smiled as her friends rushed her and started questioning her about the kiss they had seen and the ring she was wearing.

After ten minutes of non-stop talking Gwen finally made it to her homeroom just as the school day officially began, she knew by lunch the whole school would know about her kiss with Kevin out front and her engagement ring. Gwen could feel everyone's eyes on her, the classes hadn't even started yet and already she wanted the day to be over.

While heading to her first class Gwen could hear people talking about the kiss, in her school it was rare for people to keep their voices down. Not wanting to be questioned by everyone Gwen slipped outside to the garden in the courtyard and sat down on the bench. Just as she sat down she started to have flashbacks of the garden behind Michael's mansion, the roses and the stone paths.

_Why did I think of him, it's been so long besides I hate him?_ Gwen thought to herself as she heard the bell ring for the first class. Getting up from the bench she went to her first class and took her seat near the back. Instead of listening to the teach Gwen began to doodle in her notebook. She started to draw the machine from the night before, she could swear she saw something like it before but it escaped her.

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"I would like to thank you all for coming for it seems that no matter where we come from, from the heavens above or the planet Earth we all share one thing and that one thing is a pain in our side named Ben Tennyson. In some way or another he has thwarted every plan each one of us has come up with. That is why I proposed we join together and kill Ben Tennyson." A figure said as he walked out of the shadows toward a table with many different aliens and humans lining it, as the shadowy figure walked into the light his golden hair and flawless skin revealed who he really was.

There was the sound of unanimous agreement filling the room quickly at the thought of Ben Tennyson no longer getting in the way. "I didn't come here for false promises, every time I plot to destroy this pitiful planet Tennyson does get in the way but so does a female that is always around him and Kevin Levin. He is the bane of my existence. What do you have planned for them?" Vulkanus asked as he rose to his feet.

Michael smirked "Oh, do not worry I have great plans for Gwen, as for Kevin if you wish to rid yourself of him then by all means destroy him." The blonde said smirking. Vulkanus chuckled "Are you mad boy, with his ability I almost made millions, I intended to resume my former plans and make twice as much then when I have enough then I'll rid myself of him forever." The alien said chuckling.

"Well then if there are no more interruptions I think we should get this plan started." Michael said putting his hands on the table and smirking. When he was done explaining Michael started to direct everyone so the plan could go off without a hitch. "By this time next week, each one of you will have your wildest dreams fulfilled and there will be no one in your way" he said as he dismissed the last of them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Split Attack**

Kevin pulled up to the clearing from the night before, after parking his car he headed through the small patch of woods to the small clearing where the machine had been. Just as he had suspected there was no sign of the machine from the night before. A few crushed tree branches littered the ground where the machine used to be.

"Its way too clean… there should be something even a sliver of metal but it's all gone" Kevin mumbled to himself as he walked around the small area searching like a hawk for any clues. He couldn't see anything. Sighing softly Kevin sat down on the ground and nearly jumped when he felt something stick him. Moving some of the brush and pine needles out of the way he found a small piece of metal that looked like it used to be a part of a circuit board. Kevin smirked as he kept looking around for more clues when he had been there for an hour he finally gave up and went back to his car.

Looking around the clearing remembering the night before Kevin climbed into his car and looked at the small piece of circuit board once more. "She was right this was a set up…" he mumbled softly as he started the car up and drove off. The only down side to not being in school was there was nothing to do around town, and with no signs of aliens at all Kevin was officially bored out of his mind.

While driving back home Kevin's phone began to ring, he sighed softly as he opened it "Argit I told you I'm not dealing in alien tech anymore." Kevin said as he drove down the highway. On the other line Argit sighed. "Yeah I know that, you're reformed because of your girlfriend… I actually called for you to save me. It's her cousin, he's destroying my warehouse. You may have changed to being a good guy but I need to make a living off this stuff." Argit said as a loud crash resounded through the phone.

Sighing loudly Kevin weighed his options "I'll be right there, just stay out of sight…" Kevin said as he hung up and drove toward Argit's warehouse. He knew that if Argit was really in trouble he would help. "Why would Ben be destroying Argit's place?" Kevin asked himself as he drove down the highway.

By the time he got to the warehouse it was in shambles. Whistling softly Kevin got out of his car and absorbed the metal as a safety precaution before he entered the warehouse. "Argit where are you?" Kevin called as he looked around the destroyed wooded crates and sparking alien technology that had been destroyed.

"Jeez Ben sure did a number on this stuff" Kevin mumbled as he found his way to a large open area of the warehouse floor. Argit slowly came out of hiding from inside a large crate. "Boy; am I glad to see you Kevin. He just left… but he destroyed everything in my warehouse. Could you help me clean up?" he asked looking around.

Kevin dropped his armor and looked at the damage. "I can help for a while, and then I have to pick Gwen up from school." He said looking for an area to start cleaning. "This could take a real long time, how did Ben manage this much damage?" Kevin asked.

"Sorry Kevin" Argit said walking up behind his friend. Kevin turned around "What are you sorry…ah" Kevin fell to the ground with a thud; Argit sighed as he put the cattle prod he was holding down on a crate. "Business is business man, no hard feelings I hope." Argit said as he grabbed Kevin by the ankles and dragged him off.

Argit pulled Kevin across the warehouse to an old freezer that no longer worked; using a pair of zip ties Argit strapped Kevin to a water pipe. "Oh man I hope you aren't too mad when you wake up" he mumbled as he left the freezer and locked the door behind him.

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As her lunch period came to an end Gwen walked down the hall to the library for study hall. When she found a quite table among the stacks of books Gwen looked out the window at the parking lot and sighed. The school day was nowhere near being over yet. There was still two hours left to the day. While sitting there Gwen started to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Time seemed to be moving so slow that day, by the time study hall was over Gwen was bored out of her mind. She didn't even think she could go to her last class of the day. Not wanting to be counted absent Gwen dragged herself to her final class and sat by the window.

While the teacher droned on Gwen had the overwhelming feeling that she was being watched, taking a quick look around the classroom she could see everyone was taking notes. She turned her head slightly and looked out the window it was then a shiver ran down her spine. Staring right at her was Michael Morningstar he was staring at her with such intense gaze that it frightened her.

When the final bell rang for the day Gwen grabbed her things and made her way to her locker and put away most of her books away. Slamming her locker shut Gwen went outside and after a moment of collecting her thoughts she walked over to Michael as he stood under the same tree.

"I don't know what you have planned but give it up Michael; I don't care what you tell me I'm not going with you. If you even try to start something I'll stop you" Gwen said keeping her voice down.

Michael smirked and leaned back against the tree "You know Gwen not everything revolves around you. I won't lie to you, I'm not here to call a silly truce or ask for your help I'm telling you that you will come with me right now or the ones who will suffer the consequences will be everyone standing around you." He said coldly as he grabbed Gwen's arm and started to pull it toward him.

Gwen struggled and pulled her arm free with little effort. "Don't touch me" she hissed. Michael only smirked. "Temper, temper lovely Gwen, I guess you really don't care for your fellow classmates, I guess I'll have to take care of them for good." He said with a smirk as his hands started to glow black. Gwen grabbed Michael by the wrists. "Leave them out of it, I'll go just leave everyone alone." She said looking at the ground.

" Wonderful, now let's go, you've wasted enough of my time" he said leading Gwen to the parking lot, just before they reached his car Gwen's friend walked up to her. "Jenna, could you do me a favor, can I borrow a sheet of paper? I forgot to give you my phone number for the project this weekend." She said.

Gwen pulled away from Michael and grabbed the sheet of paper on Jenna's book and kept her back facing Michael. "Jenna, when Kevin shows up, you have to give him this message. It's very important that he get it. If he doesn't show up soon call my cousin and read him this message here is his number. Don't worry he'll know what the message means" Gwen said keeping her voice down as she wrote the message out to Kevin. When she finished she felt Michael grab her arm and pull her to his car.

Getting in the very expensive sports car without a fuss Gwen sat there with her arms crossed over her chest as he drove out of the parking lot and down the road.

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Kevin slowly came too; his whole body was killing him every nerve in his body was pulsing in pain. The last thing he could remember was Argit apologizing to him for something. "Argit you backstabber when I get my hands on you I'm going to pound you!" Kevin yelled his voice echoing in the small freezer.

Reaching around as best he could Kevin felt his fingers brush against the metal wall behind him, using his abilities as best he could he absorbed the metal and broke out of his restraints. Looking around the freezer he saw old weapon parts littering the shelves.

When he reached the door Kevin knew without even trying the handle that the door was locked. Taking in a deep breath he charged the door and slammed his shoulder into it. Groaning lightly he saw that the door heavily dented. Backing up as far as he could before charging the door once more, when he slammed into Kevin sent the door flying till it crashed into a pile of old crates.

Moving around the warehouse Kevin made sure to keep up his armor up in case there were more traps set up for him. He walked around a large crate the warehouse was completely empty the destroyed alien technology was gone.

"Hologram" Kevin mumbled as he walked over to his car and sat in the driver's seat before releasing the breath he was holding. Searching his pockets quickly Kevin realized his car keys were missing.

It was at that moment he realized that a very large shadow was covering his car. As he got out slowly Kevin looked at the alien creating the shadow it was Vulkanus. The Detrovite looked at his prey and chuckled coldly. "If you think I've forgotten what you did to me last time, then you are sadly mistaken. Without your friends here to save you, you're going supply me with more crystals." Vulkanus said his arms over his chest.

Kevin laughed softly "You know what, I'm in a good mood Vulkanus I'll humor you for a while." Kevin said laughing softly as he put his fists up and got into a fighting stance. "When I beat you again, I'll make sure you're locked away in the Null Void for good" Kevin added as he dodged the punch that was thrown at him.

Vulkanus laughed as he followed Kevin as the raven haired teen moved around to avoid being struck. "Stand still, so I can crush you into the floor" he roared. Kevin started to pant hard as he avoided hit after hit. His adrenaline was starting wear off and his moves began to slow down.

_I'm not going to last too much longer…_ Kevin thought as bent over and put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "I've gotta lay off the soda, I'm really out of shape" Kevin panted. Crouching down Kevin absorbed the concrete from the floor and looked around for where Vulkanus was. "I don't have time for this" Kevin growled to himself as rolled across the ground as a large hammer came crashing down on the spot where he was standing.

"I thought you said that you wanted more crystals from me, how do you plan on doing that if you kill me?" Kevin asked as he continued to dodge the giant hammer. Vulkanus only laughed harder. "I'm not going to kill you I'm just going to break your legs so you can't get away." He answered as he swung the hammer once more and caught Kevin with the edge of his hammer in the shoulder.

Kevin hit the ground on his side; just as he started to roll away the hammer came down and was followed by a sickening crunch. Rolling onto his back Kevin cried out in pain as he tried to keep from blacking out. Moving onto his side he curled up into a fetal position, opening his eyes slowly he looked at his leg, the concrete armor that covered his body was completely smashed around his leg. Reaching down he touched his leg and winced at the immense pain radiating from his leg.

Vulkanus laughed coldly as he reached down and grabbed Kevin by the back of his shirt and lifted him into the air. "You're not going to be getting away like you did last time" he said lifting Kevin higher into the air before dropping him.

Landing on his broken leg Kevin screamed at the pain when his leg hit the ground. "That's what I like to hear" Vulkanus said coldly.

* * *

Michael looked over at Gwen as he drove; it was a very quiet car ride for the last hour. When they pulled up to a stop sign Michael reached over and brushed some hair out of Gwen's eyes. "Don't worry we'll be there soon" he said giving a small grin.

Gwen glared daggers at the blonde teen and pushed Michael's hand away from her face. It was then he noticed the engagement ring. "I see now, that's why you're so hostile. You're afraid that you're going to fall for me again and leave poor Kevin behind." He said smirking as he pulled away from the stop sign and headed for the highway.

"You just keep telling yourself that" Gwen said as she subtly reached over and undid her seatbelt. "There is no way I would fall for you, I know how you try to play your mind tricks." She said keeping Michael too busy to notice she opened the door very slowly. "You are very smart lovely Gwen." He commented as turned east onto less busy road.

Looking out the window Gwen glanced out of the corner of her eye as she pulled the handle and opened the passenger door. Just as they cleared the corner she looked over at the blonde before throwing herself out of the car. Gwen covered her face with arms as she hit the hard pavement.

Gwen laid there for a moment in daze; she was so out of it that she didn't hear the car screech to a stop and the driver side door open then slam shut. Michael walked over to the red headed girl and looked down at her.

"That wasn't a very smart thing to do; you could have seriously hurt yourself lovely Gwen." He said calmly as he crouched down. "I was supposed to bring you to a designated area but you've become too much trouble lovely Gwen" Michael said grabbing the girl as she tried to crawl away.

Kicking behind her with all her weight Gwen was able to get free and get to her feet. Turning around she saw that there was no sign of Michael Morningstar, his car was sitting on the side of the empty road but he was gone. Staying on guard she created two small mana orbs in her hands, it would be her downfall if she didn't take anything serious. Michael Morningstar was never one to take lightly and Gwen knew that.

Michael silently walked up behind the redhead. "Please don't make me hurt you too much" he said in her ear before he moved back quickly to avoid getting hit when she spun around. "If you hadn't been so eager to get away from me you could have been with Kevin in the end" he said his face showing no real emotion.

Gwen stood there "What do you mean, and you better tell me the truth or I'm going…" Gwen was cut off as the blonde walked closer to her. "Tell me right now…" her voice was beginning to waver slightly. Michael was right in front of Gwen at that point.

"You see sweet Gwen, you and Kevin have become quite a nuisance and we were finally forced to work together to make sure you two don't get in the way tonight as we destroy your cousin and that horrid watch of his" Michael said laughing.

---------------

Ben was leaning against a table as he sipped his smoothie he had been waiting for Kevin and Gwen for an hour. Julie had to stay after school to practice for an upcoming game that weekend.

"Well this is fun, what I wouldn't give for an alien attack right now" Ben said to himself as he finished his smoothie and threw the cup away in the trash next to him. "I'm so bored" he groaned as he dragged his feet while he walked toward the bike rack where his bike was parked.

As he got closer a loud roar filled the air as a large plasma beam stuck the bike rack leaving a three foot deep and two foot wide crater. Turning around Ben looked at the alien standing before him.

Vilgax stood ready to fight the wielder of the Omnitrix. "Finally, I will be the one to take you down for good Ben Tennyson" Vilgax said pointing the large weapon at the teen in front of him.

Ben moved out of the way as he dialed the Omnitrix, moving quickly another way, he miss dialed, before he realized it he slammed his hand down. Ben's body began to turn to slime.

"Goop" The polymorph called out as he stood there. "Aw man, well I can make this work" Ben said as he moved around the park lot to avoid the shots from the cannon. "Where are Kevin and Gwen when I need them" Ben remarked as he moved around Vilgax trying to find a place to hit.

The alien laughed "By now they're both dead, I find that every time I ever tried to defeat you before Max Tennyson and that little cousin of your would always come to your rescue. Now that your all alone I can finally take the Omnitrix from you boy." He said swing his arm around and sending Goop's UFO flying. Goop fell into a puddle and lay there until the UFO returned.

When Goop reformed Ben changed back to human and redialed quickly for Big Chill. "What do you mean their dead, what did you do to them Vilgax?"Ben asked as stood there ready to attack.

"I did nothing, you see when you associate yourself with others that share the same problem then they practically throw themselves at the chance to get rid of said problem." Vilgax remarked as he threw the cannon aside and moved forward.

His heavy footfall shook Ben from his thoughts. "What did you do to them?" he asked getting into position to protect him-self from any attacks. "I don't have to explain anything to you, now you are going to be nothing more than a bug under my boot." Vilgax said moving quickly and throwing a punch at Ben.

Flying backwards quickly Ben froze Vilgax in his steps "Freeze… Vilgax, why don't you just chill out for a while. In the mean time I'll go look for my friends." Ben said flying higher into the sky and taking off quickly to find his cousin and friend.

_I really wish I still had Wildmutt; he would be really helpful right now…_ Ben thought as he flew through the skies over Bellwood. Flying around Ben realized that Gwen would have been picked up from school. Diving quickly to the ground below he landed two blocks away from Gwen' school and changed back.

Running down the street Ben arrived at the school out of breath he looked around and saw that there were only a few people left. Walking around the small quad in front of the school Ben saw Gwen's friend Jenna running up to him.

"Ben I tried calling you for an hour don't you ever have you phone turned on? Never mind… Kevin never showed up and Gwen left with some really good looking guy right after school." She said handing Ben the note.

Ben opened the note and read it quietly to himself "Kevin, left with Michael; not of my free will my badge is on… hurry" Ben crushed the note in his hand and looked at the girl in front of him and gave a fake smile " Don't worry she just got a ride from an old friend of ours. I'll see you later Jenna" Ben said as he turned and started to run as fast as his legs could carry him.

-----------------

Kevin opened his eyes slowly his leg was still throbbing in pain. Sitting up slowly Kevin made sure to keep his broken leg from moving. He wanted to just pass out and lay there forever, Kevin watched as Vulkanus circled him like a shark.

Slipping his hand into his pocket Kevin pulled his badge out and turned it on before putting it back in his pocket before Vulkanus saw it. Moving his hand across the concrete floor he absorbed the rocky material and forced himself to his feet. Gritting his teeth in pain he put all his weight on his good leg.

"I'm getting tired of this" Kevin said moving backward slowly toward his car, if he could get to his car he could protect himself with the weapons he had put into it. When he got to the car he pulled the door open and climbed inside and rooted around the glove box until he found the extra key to his car. Jamming the key into the ignition he turned the key and listened as the engine turned over. Throwing the car into reverse he slammed his right foot onto the gas pedal, the green sports car flew backwards through the open doorway and onto the abandoned airfield.

_The further away I get from here the safer I will be_ Kevin thought as he punched the break hard and spun his car around a hundred and eighty degrees, when the car was facing the exit he switched into drive and took off as fast as his car could go. He headed down the road quickly as he turned the corner and shot up the small hill he swerved as a large pink figure flew from the side of the road.

Kevin closed his eyes as the front of his car came in contact with the trunk of a tree. Looking around Kevin saw his fiancé standing in the middle of the road in a fighting stance. Kevin followed Gwen's eyes till he saw who she was looking at.

"Morningstar" he growled, he ignored the fact he damaged his car and rolled his window down and leaned out as far as he could. "Gwen over here…" he called with a smile as the red head ran over to the car.

Gwen was almost in tears she was so happy to see Kevin alive. She practically threw herself through the open car window as she hugged Kevin around the neck and kissed him. When she pulled away for air she looked back for the blonde teen. "He's around somewhere; he and I are evenly matched… well when he's not sucking my energy away." Gwen said with a small smile.

-------------------

Michael kept low behind his car as he watched the two teens. Slipping behind his car he peered around the back bumper and looked at Gwen and watched her every move as she spoke with Kevin. The blonde teen snuck back to the front passenger side.

Quietly pulling the door open Michael grabbed the hidden Oxitorian gun he kept under the seat and moved silently across the road. Moving carefully he came up right behind Gwen to keep himself blocked from view. When he was in place he pressed the muzzle of the gun hard against Gwen's back.

"I'm not quite done with you two yet; you're going to ruin our plans if you get away and help your cousin." He said looking over Gwen's shoulder at Kevin. "I think I know how to keep you from going anywhere" the blonde said moving the gun and pointed it at the hood of the car and pulled the trigger blasting, a large hole the size of a watermelon in the hood of the car.

Kevin growled and pushed the car door open and climbed out as quickly as he could and leaned against the back for a moment before throwing himself at the blonde. Not letting the other get the best of him he sat up and started to punch Michael.

As the two struggled the gun went off and sounded like a small cannon. Gwen realized something was wrong, for a moment she was frozen in place until she saw all the blood.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Close**

Gwen moved quickly to Kevin's side there was blood spilling from his wound in small pulses. She felt a sob start to build in her throat; it broke out when Kevin coughed up blood. Pulling her sweater off quickly she pushed it against the wound to slow the crimson liquid from flowing. Unlike the blood in the movies, real blood didn't feel very sticky it felt like warm water at first after a few moments the blood on her hands began to dry and crack.

Pressing on the wound harder she noticed that the blood wasn't coming out as much as it had been. When she was finally sure that Kevin wouldn't bleed to death she stood up and looked at the blonde. Without even speaking she surrounded him with mana and lifted him off the ground and slammed him into a tree and dumping him under the tree like an old bag of clothes.

Kneeling back down Gwen kept Kevin from sitting up "You're going to reopen your wound if you get up right now… you know I thought I was going to lose you for a moment" she said softly.

Kevin just smiled "I wouldn't lose that easily to the likes of him. You have nothing to worry about." He said softly as he took the girl's hand in his. Kevin didn't like lying to Gwen, he knew he wasn't going to die within the next few minutes but he knew the dangers of being shot with a plasma gun at such a close distance. Without medical attention he would be dead within a few hours. With the blood drying on the outside it didn't mean it was stopping everywhere.

Putting his hand over Gwen's he pushed the sweater down harder and sat up slowly and leaned against the redhead. The adrenaline from before was wearing off and his leg was starting to hurt once again.

In the distance dark clouds were rolling closer and the rumbling coming from the clouds were felt on the ground even. Kevin sighed for a moment "just our luck" Kevin grumbled. Gwen looked at the sky for a moment. "We should find some cover and get Michael into some cover before the storm hits" Gwen said getting to her feet.

"Gwen did you hit your head? He just tried to kill us, why would you want to help him. We should leave him out here, maybe we'll get lucky and he'll get struck by lightning." Kevin said with a smirk that he wiped away when he saw Gwen glare at him.

Stamping her foot onto the ground Gwen looked at the teen sitting on the ground. "Yes he did he did try to kill one of us a few minutes ago, but if we just leave him then we'll be sinking to his level and be no better than him. Besides if we leave him he'll just get away again to regroup with whoever he is working with." She said creating a small mana roof as the rain began to fall.

Moving away from Kevin; Gwen slowly walked over to the unconscious blonde teen and crouched down to make sure he was still breathing. When her finger tips brushed against his neck to feel a pulse his eyes shot open and before she could even move Michael was on top of her, his hand wrapped tightly around her neck and began to squeeze.

Kevin started to push himself to his feet he could feel his wound opening up again, but he didn't care. He could bleed out every single drop of blood and it wouldn't matter as Gwen was safe. All he could hear at that moment was his blood pounding in his ears.

Gwen struggled against Michael she could feel it was getting harder to move, a part of her wanted to just let go and slip away into the darkness that was taking over. As she struggled she clawed at Michael's face and neck. When she began to slip away Gwen swore she saw Jetray swoop down from the sky, it was then she felt her energy and air flow back into her all at once.

When she sat up a bit; Gwen began to cough as she started to breathe normally again. The rain that had been in the distance had finally arrived and was falling with such force. Gwen looked for any sign of Kevin, that was when she saw him and Ben standing in front of Michael and keeping him pinned to a large tree.

Kevin growled in anger as he shoved the blonde hard "I'm going to enjoy this" he said with a smirk as he threw a punch at Michael. Just before the blow landed Michael moved his head and took a quick jab at Kevin's wounded side and slammed his foot down at an angle with his own energy as an extra boost causing the stone splint around Kevin's broken leg to shatter and send him to the ground again. With the distraction Michael slipped away and got into his car and peeled out of the area. He knew he had to regroup and plan another attack.

-----------------

Ben moved over to Kevin cautiously "What is going on today? First Vilgax attacks me then when you two won't pick up your cell phones I get your note which you gave to Jenna. So what's going on Gwen?" Ben asked knowing Kevin would only bite his head off.

Gwen rubbed her neck and slowly stood up "Not now Ben" she said hoarsely as she made her way over to Kevin. Moving her hand over the old wound she felt the fresh blood slowly rising out of the wound. Not waiting Gwen pulled her phone out and called for help, she handed the phone to Ben when he moved closer. "Stay on the phone with them" she said her voice still rough from being choked.

Kevin closed his eyes for a moment, when he opened them again it took him a moment to realize that he was moving but at the same time his surroundings had changed. Kevin looked to his left and saw an unfamiliar person sitting beside him and jotting down everything a voice above him was saying.

"I'm hanging another bag of type O- ; we're two minutes from Bellwood General" The medical technician said looking at Kevin and saw he was awake. "Kevin, we're almost there so just hang on. Rich get on the horn with General and make sure their ready for him." The man said as he attached the new tube to the IV in Kevin's arm.

When the ambulance came to a halt Kevin looked around for Gwen as he was pushed in through the emergency room doors and into a room. He counted at least four doctors and two nurses waiting for him. As soon as he was lifted from the gurney and onto the table he felt his shirt being cut away from his body.

"Where's Gwen?" he asked the nurse closest to him. She moved closer for a moment "Who's Gwen? Is she your girlfriend?" she asked when Kevin nodded his head a bit she smiled slightly "I'll go see if she's in the waiting room, what does she look like ?" the nurse asked as she moved so a doctor could work on Kevin.

Kevin took in a deep breath "Red hair, green eyes and very beautiful" he said weakly as the main doctor continued to clamp the bleeding veins. "Don't let her see me like this, just tell her I'm all right… even if it isn't true." He said forcing his eyes open again.

The young nurse made sure she wasn't needed before leaving the room when she got to the open waiting room she spotted Gwen easily, the poor girl looked like she was going to gnaw her fingers off she was biting the nails down so short.

"Gwen? I'm Sara" the nurse said walking up to the girl. "Kevin wanted me to come out here and tell you he's fine so you won't worry, you should know though he's touch and go right now. The doctors are doing their very best to get him stable enough for surgery. Being that he is still a minor we need to contact his parents." Sara said sitting the girl down in a hard plastic chair.

Gwen nodded her head "I… I think both his mother and step-father work…I…I don't know their numbers" Gwen said as she tried to keep from shaking. It was at that moment that Ben walked into the waiting room with an older woman that still looked radiant her shoulder length black hair and dark eyes were dead giveaway of who she was.

"I was told my son was here? What happened to him?" Lynette said leaving Ben's side and looking around for where her son could be. Gwen looked over at her cousin before walking over to where Lynette was standing.

Standing there for a moment Gwen thought for a moment about what to say to Kevin's mother. It was only after the woman looked at her that she realized she had been speaking to her the whole time.

Gwen froze she was trying to process everything in her mind and figure out where to start her story. "He… I… Kevin got hurt when he was protecting me…I'm sorry that this happened to him" she said looking down for a moment before looking at Lynette.

"You must be Gwen; Kevin is always talking about you at home. I can see why he would risk his life he really does care about you." She said looking at the girl.

* * *

"You promised that Ben Tennyson would be nothing more than a crushed bug under our feet and yet he's still alive as are the others." Vilgax said moving toward Michael.

Michael chuckled softly as he leaned back in the office chair "Well one of them is wounded and by now in the hospital or worse and that just leaves two more left for us to deal with." He said with a smirk.

Vulkanus paced around the room "I'm the only one who did the most damage, one of you couldn't do more than just a few punches and the other one just flirted his way to almost getting shot. So you two think just because there is two left it will be easier well then you are sadly mistaken, they are going to be more on guard now that we have failed in our last attempt." He said looking back at the blonde.

"I accept the fact that I failed and that she got away, but if you had just gotten rid of Levin like you were supposed to instead of keeping him alive for profit then my part of the plan would not have failed." Michael said getting up from his chair.

Vilgax stood up between the two "If we play our cards right then even with Max Tennyson's grandchildren on guard then we could use it against them. To defeat Ben Tennyson we have to just over power him, the true thorn in our side is that girl… his cousin, I never knew her name"

Michael chuckled "Ah, you mean the lovely Gwen; she can be quite a problem when her life or her boyfriend's life is threatened. It seems that just separating them didn't make it easier to finish them off. But she does have one fault that can be manipulated in our favor. Her kind and gentle heart is her downfall." He said walking around the large room.

"How do you plan on using this knowledge, just knowing her weakness isn't going to help us, also knowing that one of them is in the hospital is just more knowledge unless we plan on using it in the near future." Vilgax said looking at the egotistical blonde that paced around like wild dog.

The three of them looked at each other trying to figure out a new plan that would get them closer to their goal of destroying the three teens for good. It was clear to them that working apart was the problem if their enemies could work together as a team to defeat them then they would have to work together to destroy Ben, Gwen and Kevin.

---------------

"How long has he been in surgery?" Ben asked with a yawn as he laid his head of the seat of the leather cough of the operating waiting room. After he had been stabilized Kevin had been taken to the operating room on the fourth floor to repair his leg and to stop his internal bleeding.

Gwen had been sitting on the small loveseat closest to the operating room doors. She looked over her shoulder at her cousin. "Almost three hours, but that's normal for the injuries he had." She said softly as she looked back at the doors waiting for the surgeon to come out and tell them what had happened.

It was close to midnight when Gwen felt herself drifting in and out of sleep as she sat upright; Ben had already fallen asleep on the chair by the window. Her parents had shown up almost two hours ago when she called them and told them Kevin was in surgery. She had almost fully fallen asleep when she felt a warm cup being pushed into her hands. Gwen looked up and saw Lynette sipping some of her own coffee. "Kevin told me once you don't drink coffee, so I got you some tea instead." She said smiling weakly. Gwen gave an equally weak smile. "Thank you, I'm so sorry… If I hadn't let my guard down then Michael would have never gotten as close as he did." She said nursing the tea in her hands.

Lynette smiled a little more and put her free arm around Gwen "There is no one to blame, from what you and Ben said earlier this young man is the one to blame not you." She said as she released the girl slowly.

Earlier before her parents even arrive Gwen had allowed one of the emergency room doctors to look her over and take care of the few scrapes on her arms and legs. There was nothing they could do for the heavy bruising around her neck where she had been choked, she remembered how her parents and Lynette took the information about the attacks, and just how Kevin had been shot with no signs of a bullet, when she was asked about the broken leg she couldn't answer them. All she knew was that he had broken his leg before he got to her.

Talking with them was like trying to teach a lion to dance and not get eaten in the process. Gwen was against the wall when her mother brought up the topic Gwen had been dreading, her mother brought up the engagement. That was news that Lynette took with a smile.

At quarter past twelve Kevin's surgeon walked through the dark oak double doors there were heavy bags under his eyes. He was smiling though. Gwen and Lynette had jumped from their seats like the seats were electrified. Ben had been woken by his uncle and the three of them sat in the shadows.

The two woman stood there as the surgeon walked over to them. "You must be his mother and girlfriend. I have good news. Kevin did very well during surgery, we had to cut into his broken leg to reset it, and he'll need to stay off of it for a few weeks before he will be able to actually put any weight on it. Walking around to use the restroom should be limited as much as possible. I suggest that he stay in a bedroom with a bathroom attached and have it be on ground level if possible. His other surgery went just as well. We were able to close up the internal bleeding he sustained in the fight and he should make a full recovery. He's being taken to the post-op down the hall if you wish to sit with him. I suggest you two for now." The surgeon said giving one more smile before walking away.

Lynette and Gwen were off like a flash without even bothering to tell the others were they were going. When they got to the post-op the nurses had just finished taking notes on Kevin for his medical records. Both women were left alone with Kevin. Gwen moved right over to Kevin's side and took his hand in hers and rubbed her thumb across the back of it.

"Gwen, now that we're alone may I ask you something?" Gwen nodded her head as she tore her eyes away from Kevin's sleeping face. "I know that Kevin isn't exactly normal… he doesn't know that I know…" Lynette was cut off by her son stirring in the bed.

Kevin slowly opened his eyes, the room was very bright and it bothered him. His head was still swimming from the drugs used to put him under. He could make out blurry shapes for the moment. Kevin could feel something covering his mouth, he reached up slowly and weakly swatted at it till he felt himself start to drift again between being awake and asleep.

A nurse walked over "We're going to be taking him to his room now; I can have an orderly bring a second chair into the room if you would both like to stay the night." She said as an orderly started to push the gurney out of the room.

"I should get home; I need to fill Ray in on everything that has happened. I'll be back in the morning." Lynette said as she gave a small wave and left the room as Gwen followed the orderly past the waiting area where her family was and went up two floors to the private rooms. Once Kevin was settled in she sent a text message to Ben to inform her parents that they could go since she was going to stay the night.

Putting her phone back in her pocket, Gwen made herself comfortable on the chair in the room, the soft beeping on the heart monitor slowly lulled her to sleep. She was so tired it didn't matter to her that she was dressed in her day clothes or that she didn't have a blanket.

It had been a very long day and sleep was the one thing to make it better. Gwen had entered the unconscious world of sleep in a matter of seconds. It wouldn't be long before she entered deeper REM sleep and her body gained all its lost energy.

-----------

Ben had given his aunt and uncle the message and told them he was just going to say good night to Gwen before he caught a cab or just walked home on that spring evening. They offered to wait for Ben but in the end they knew that it was fine if they left without him, Ben wasn't a little kid anymore. He hadn't been for some time.

Once his aunt and uncle left Ben let out a huge sigh and asked the closest nurse where to find the recovery rooms. When he finally made it to Kevin's room after asking at the nurse's station he walked into the dark room slowly and saw the dark outline of Kevin in bed and Gwen sleeping in the chair beside the window. The street lights that came in through the window made it easier for Ben to see where he was going.

Taking a seat on a second chair on the other side of Kevin's bed Ben looked out the window. Sleep was something he wanted but at the moment it wasn't safe for them all to be asleep in one room. After a moment he heard Kevin starting to wake up from the anesthetics used to knock him out.

"Hey…Kevin you sure know how to make people worry about you." Ben whispered to his friend. Kevin chuckled softly. "Yeah I know, but I have to protect Gwen you know… she means the world to me. By the way what happened to my car?" he asked keeping his voice down so he wouldn't wake Gwen.

Ben smirked though it was hard to see. "Well after I got word to your mom you were in the hospital I went back and turned into Humongousaur and carried the car to your warehouse in town and hid it inside. So it's waiting for you to fix it up, I'm sorry but that engine is fried whatever Morningstar hit it with blew a hole clean through your engine block." Ben said giving a sympathetic pat on Kevin's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'll worry about that when I'm out of the hospital… right now I should get some rest and hopefully by tomorrow I'm out of here." Kevin said giving a yawn and trying to get comfortable on the hospital bed. Ben shook his head for a moment "Well Gwen and I will be here all night so don't worry about a thing we'll protect you" he said with a small laugh in his voice.

When Kevin finally fell asleep again Ben decided that for now they were safe in the hospital and he could catch a few winks as well. Closing his eyes and laying his head back Ben slowly started to fall asleep on the chair his arms crossed over his chest. It had been a long day and they all deserved some sleep.

--------------

By sunrise Kevin was awake finally, he looked over at Gwen and saw her sleeping still in the chair by the window. Ben's jacket draped over her like a blanket. Turning his head he looked for the other teen and saw a note on the night stand. Grabbing it Kevin read it softly to himself "Went to school, uncle Frank called Gwen in sick today, be back later for my jacket, Julie says get better soon.- Ben" Kevin smirked and put his head back against his pillow.

_At least Gwen is all right…_ Kevin thought and gave a soft sigh he looked himself over and saw the large cast on his leg and smirked near the his toes the plaster was doodled on with a green marker and a black marker that looked like his car. "Ben…" Kevin mumbled and laughed.

Gwen slowly started to wake up; she felt the warm jacket covering her as she opened her eyes she saw the sky line of the city. Looking over her shoulder she saw Kevin awake and smiling at her.

"I met you mother last night, she had to get home to tell your step-father but she said she would be back." Gwen said as she got up from the chair, stretching her arms over her head she realized it was after eight. "Oh no I'm late for school" she panicked slightly. Kevin chuckled softly "Don't worry about it, Ben left a note saying your dad called you in sick today." He said handing the note over to her.

Gwen put the note in Ben's jacket pocket before she put the coat over the back of the chair. She was hungry she hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. "I'm going to grab some food, you want anything special?" Gwen asked as she searched her pockets for some money.

Kevin thought for a moment before deciding. "How about a hamburger with fries and a soda" he said with a smile. The young Anodite smiled and found her money. "I'll be right back, you get a lot of rest" she said giving Kevin a quick kiss and leaving the room.

Going to the closest fast food restaurant Gwen waited a few minutes for the place to start serving lunch. After ordering Gwen exited the restaurant and looked around the parking lot, she had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was the same feeling she got when Michael had been standing outside her school the day before.

Not caring how she looked Gwen jogged back to the hospital and snuck the food inside and walked into the elevator, riding the lift up to Kevin's floor the uneasy feeling was still there like something was behind her and watching her every move. When she entered the room she pushed all the worry deep inside and smiled.

"You're an angel" Kevin said chuckling. Gwen gave a mock sad look. "So I'm only good enough to get your food?"She asked acting hurt which made Kevin smile even more. "I didn't mean it like that; I also love you for your mind and the fact that you are really pretty." He said smiling so big that his cheeks were starting to cramp.

Kevin grabbed the burger and ate it down like a wild animal. When he was done he sipped the soda and leaned back against the pillow. "Gwen, this isn't over yet…we all need to be on guard more than ever or next time we're going end up in the ground not in a hospital bed." he said sighing.


End file.
